Dreadnought Class SSBN names

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I must admit to being puzzled
at the choice of Dreadnought
as a name for the new SSBNs.
Assuming 4 or 3 submarines are
built, the only rationale is to
resurrect the names of our early
nuclear boats. That would add
Valiant and Warspite and possibly
Conqueror or Churchill.
The alternative would have
been a B class to follow the
Astutes:
Bellerephon
Bucephalus
Belligerent
Bellicose
so probably best to go with
SSN names. Anyone still around
for the next lot in the 2050s
the RN can go back to the R
class.

CLEARANCE: Confidential

I think they must be looking to use previous battleship names - there could be a problem with utilising alphabetical 'D' names - after all we have the Type 45's using that as a primary source.
If some some reason they stuck with D's though, there is Devastation and Defiance, but after that I come up empty!!!!

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My (somewhat more serious) guess is that names that do not seem overtly belligerent would be used. The deterrent force is highly political and names that suggest steadfastness and virtue rather than aggression would be used (even though there is a Vengeance now, that denotes a counterattack after aggression). Defender, Dependable, Diligent, maybe even Deterrent would be likely.

Donald is not likely.

By the way, I had read that the names proposed for the G-3 battlecruisers were St Andrew, St George, St David and St Patrick. Is there any information on this?

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I could also see them using Diligence, although it was most recently utilised for an RFA repair ship.
I am a bit surprised about using Dreadnought to begin with, after all, although they have been de-commissioned, the original SSN still exists - along with the other SSN’s and SSBN’s.

WTH regards to the G3’s - The ‘Saint’ names I think we’re first mentioned in Brewers ‘Battleships and Battlecruisers’ in relation to the never built N3 class battleships - in-fact, having checked, even Breyers entry said 'names very doubtful. For the G3 Battlecruisers, again in Breyer, it was suggested that the original ‘I’ class names were to be re-utilised.

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CLEARANCE: Top Secret

As predicted somewhere here, the Royal Navy has named the next two boats in the "Dreadnought" class of SSBN "Valiant" and "Warspite" after the early SSNs. The fourth ship will presumably be named "Churchill" after the fourth SSN commissioned

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I am interested to read you think that "political" reasons might impact on the name. Presumably "Conqueror" would be similarly difficult as the Labour Party still dispute the legitimacy of her sinking of the Belgrano. That would leave "Courageous", which would be a suitable name. However, Churchill was the fourth boat.

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Names for political figures are fairly rare in the Royal Navy. While it might have seemed a good idea to name the original SSN after him so soon after his death, Churchill is a more divisive figure 50 years on. Undoubtedly he would still top a public poll for a warship naming contest, but when you're toting around an arsenal that could wipe half the planet away it would seem a touch insensitive. Also, Churchill at the end of his political days rather feared the consequences of a thermonuclear holocaust and would probably have entered into a arms reduction treaty had it been possible to do so at that time, so it would be a touch ironic.

How so? The early Royal Navy SSNs used battleship names, the already-named Dreads were all battleship names also used on SSNs. Had KGVI been a WW2 battleship name, there would have been minimal eye-batting if the name had returned on an early SSN and now on a SSBN. This name says to me the RN is honoring KGVI was worthy of the battleship which, due to the realities of time and technology, he was never honored with.

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Just to emphasise:
Resolution Renown Revenge Repulse
Vanguard Victorious Vigilant Vengeance
whereas
Dreadnought Valiant (ok but dont seem to belong together) Warspite and King George VI
is a bit of a hodge podge.

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No its not a hodge podge at all. I thought all along that they would be commemorating old battleship names.
I had my suspicions that the repeating of the SSN line was coincidental to the fact that the names were all used on battleships. That was one reason I thought Churchill was unlikely (as well as the political aspects).

On a sidenote however, this probably means the Navy will have the highest number of Royally-connected names than it has had for many years, probably since WW2. Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh never made through to being actual names during the post-war period (proposed for CVA-01 and GW96 cruiser respectively). In many ways its a shame the carriers didn't use some of the old aircraft carrier names rather than recycling two (albeit famous) battleship names.

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It is at the end of the day a subjective matter. I would have liked the new carriers to be Ark Royal and Eagle.
I accept that battleship names are the source for Deterrent vessel names but the RN managed a much more coherent and appropriate set of names for the R and V class.